halcyon || seungjin

11: Tears and Heartbeats

It's very difficult for Seungmin to wake up and actually focus on the job at hand- decorating an entire ballroom for a royal wedding- when last night is stuck on replay in his mind: Hyunjin's careful hands and skillful tongue all over his body- Seungmin squeezes his eyes shut and tries to clear his head.

It doesn't help that Jisung- who has become Seungmin's unofficial assistant at this point- is relentlessly teasing Seungmin for the red and purple bruises on his neck while a permanent smirk resides on his face.

"Who initiated it?"

"We need to set up the flower arch by the altar,"

"I bet it was you. If it was you, Changbin and Minho both owe me a dinner."

"And put a centrepiece on each table,"

"Did he say he loved you? Innie told me he thought Hyunjin would."

"And the vases all need to be emptied and refilled with fresh water."

"Did you guys f-"

"Sungie! Please." Seungmin leans his head back and rubs one of his hands down his face. "Yes, I initiated it, but no, he did not say he loved me. We just kissed. Let's get this done before we run out of time."

Jisung nudges Seungmin with his shoulder. "I knew you were bold like that... do you love him?"

"Jisung!"

...✦

Hyunjin's wedding suit is nothing special- fancier than your average tuxedo but just suited to be fancy enough for a prince. He'd opted for the simplest suit possible despite his parents' strong opinions against it because he really can't be bothered to make an effort. Not when he knows he'll feel his own heart sink as Seungmin watches the ceremony from the audience, and he and Yeji will have to half-heartedly act like the prince and princess Hyunjin's parents want them to be. Not when his own feelings yearn for something- or someone- else entirely.

Hyunjin wears the suit the day before the wedding- he tries to break it in, so that way, maybe he won't feel so suffocated at the altar the next morning- as he sits in Jeongin's room, listening to him play piano in an effort to ease his mind. It works a little, he thinks, but for the most part, Hyunjin thinks about either his upcoming doom, or Seungmin. Apparently the expression on Hyunjin's face is distressed enough that Jeongin picks up on his confliction and he slides off the piano bench, moving to sit next to Hyunjin on the sofa.

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong? I can tell it's not just the wedding." Jeongin gives Hyunjin a knowing smile and Hyunjin is both fascinated and freaked out by how easily Jeongin can read him.

He sighs, "I guess I should tell you about last night,"

"Oh? Last night?" Jeongin's smile morphs into a smirk as if he can predict what Hyunjin's going to say. And he probably can, since his intuition has always been superior between the two of them.

"You know that date between me and a certain someone that you and Minho and Chan and Changbin were all joking about planning? Chan and Changbin... weren't joking apparently."

"Oh my god!" Jeongin claps a hand over his mouth. "Please tell me they went through with the rose petals scattered on your bed and lit candles all over your side tables option."

"What? No," Hyunjin raises his eyebrows, "that was an option? Anyway, we went to the city. Seungmin's family home. His shop. We snuck out."

"That's so romantic- a prince and a gardener, sneaking out of the royal palace together at midnight to try to forget the lives they live by day-" Jeongin begins narrating, but Hyunjin shoves him lightly.

"It was really... intimate. To get to know Seungmin in another way. To see another side of him." Hyunjin says, huffing out a breath and resting his chin on one of his hands.

"Speaking of being intimate..." Jeongin raises an eyebrow.

Hyunjin rolls his eyes in response.

"So is that a yes or no? Did you guys... you know..."

"We just kissed."

"That's still a win in my book," Jeongin nods in approval.

"It's a win for me too, but now I kind of have to get married to an entirely different person in less than 24 hours." Hyunjin proceeds to bury his face in both of his hands. "This is the worst."

"At least Felix made a really good cake. Right?" Jeongin nudges Hyunjin with an elbow. "That cake can solve basically any problem. I'm salivating just thinking about it."

"Gross," Hyunjin laughs, "unfortunately, I don't think cake can get me out of my current predicament."

...✦

Seungmin might be angry, he thinks, as he climbs up to Hyunjin's balcony. In less than a day, Hyunjin is getting married off to a princess and there's nothing that can be done about it. He knows Hyunjin doesn't want it so he's mad for him, and he's mad at himself for wanting Hyunjin to himself so badly. He's mad at the world for making Hyunjin a prince and making him a commoner, and he's mad that there's nothing in Seungmin's power that can be done to stop Hyunjin from getting married.

Seungmin feels the grate of each brick, the stray particles of stone digging into his palms and heels but he doesn't care, the sharp metal balcony and it's thorny ornamentation breaking the first layer of his skin, Hyunjin's soft hand- oh.

Seungmin looks up to see Hyunjin waiting on the balcony, and he hoists him upwards so they're standing face to face with the balcony railing being the only barrier between them.. "Hi," the prince smiles, unfeigned despite the circumstances they're both currently in.

"Hey." Seungmin says shortly in reply, hopping over the balcony railing in a swift motion as he pulls Hyunjin into the bedroom, swiping the curtain closed. Seungmin immediately leans back on the wall next to the door, pulling Hyunjin in just centimetres away from his face from the collar of his shirt.

"Not even a how are you?" Hyunjin laughs, but he doesn't waste any time pressing his lips to Seungmin's, leaning into him as Seungmin's grip on his shirt gets tighter, hands eventually moving to Hyunjin's shoulders, the back of his neck, his hair.

"We don't have time for small talk," Seungmin mumbles into the kiss, his words coming out lazily as tongues come out and Hyunjin takes the initiative to move the two of them to the bed. Seungmin lets himself fall back-first onto the silk sheets as Hyunjin comes crashing down on top of him, not breaking apart despite the force.

And they stay like that. For a while. They kiss, they lie together, for what feels like hours. No words are spoken, not even when salty tears can be tasted through kisses or racing heartbeats pulse in their necks and wrists.

They stay like that. Even when Seungmin suggests that he leaves, Hyunjin just shakes his head and wraps his arms around him, pulling him under the sheets, clinging to him like ivy on a wall. Seungmin doesn't mind, laying still as one of the statues in the garden with his face tucked into Hyunjin's neck, breathing in his vanilla-sweet scent.

They stay like that. For as long as they possibly can.